How to determine the best replacement woofer

canonnica · 23rd August 2011, 02:20 PM

Hi all,

I have a set of old "Lotus Live 208" loudspeakers with broken woofer suspensions. I love their sound so much that i decided to fix them.
So i'd like to replace those drivers with the most suitable ones, but I'm puzzled as to which one to chose.

They're 8", with red foam suspensions, just like of Cerwin-Vegas...

There's nothing written on the drivers. The foam suspension have been changed once already (they're almost 25 y.o. now).

When I look at replacement drivers, I realize that the enclosure is quite small compared to what is recommended from all the 8-incher vendors. Baffle volume is 23 liters with a vent of 2"dia by 4" len. However all calculation and recommendation from mfgrs are at least double this size for a vented baffle.

What characteristics should I look for to adequately replace these?

The only thing I know is that the advertized power rating of the loudspeaker is 100W RMS and a sensivity of 90dB 1W/1m.

Thanks!
Martin.

PeteMcK · 23rd August 2011, 11:05 PM

best way is to simulate various drivers in Unibox and see which will do well in the volume of the existing boxes (Currently they're tuned to ~ 40Hz). 23 L is most likely to suit a 6" driver... & you'll need to re-do the crossover.
If you want exact drop-ins, then re-foaming is the way to go. (Perhaps you could go with rubber surrounds instead, for longer life??)

giralfino · 24th August 2011, 09:18 AM

In my limited experience, a drop-in replacement for a driver is quite impossible.
First of all, you need to find a woofer with similar TS parameters to the existing one (FS, Vas, Qts, ...), so you can reuse the cab without mods. The you need to have the same SPL, and also to have a frequency response similar so you can keep the crossover. If you change something you need to change cab and/or crossover. If you like the sound simply re-foam the woofers.
Ralf

canonnica · 24th August 2011, 11:46 AM

Allright thank you very much for your valuable comments. I'm giving a try at refoaming them. There's enough of infos in the matter on the Net (and this forum) so it shouldn't be that hard.
Martin.

23rd August 2011, 02:20 PM	#1
canonnica diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Quebec	How to determine the best replacement woofer Hi all, I have a set of old "Lotus Live 208" loudspeakers with broken woofer suspensions. I love their sound so much that i decided to fix them. So i'd like to replace those drivers with the most suitable ones, but I'm puzzled as to which one to chose. They're 8", with red foam suspensions, just like of Cerwin-Vegas... There's nothing written on the drivers. The foam suspension have been changed once already (they're almost 25 y.o. now). When I look at replacement drivers, I realize that the enclosure is quite small compared to what is recommended from all the 8-incher vendors. Baffle volume is 23 liters with a vent of 2"dia by 4" len. However all calculation and recommendation from mfgrs are at least double this size for a vented baffle. What characteristics should I look for to adequately replace these? The only thing I know is that the advertized power rating of the loudspeaker is 100W RMS and a sensivity of 90dB 1W/1m. Thanks! Martin.

23rd August 2011, 11:05 PM	#2
PeteMcK diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Sydney	best way is to simulate various drivers in Unibox and see which will do well in the volume of the existing boxes (Currently they're tuned to ~ 40Hz). 23 L is most likely to suit a 6" driver... & you'll need to re-do the crossover. If you want exact drop-ins, then re-foaming is the way to go. (Perhaps you could go with rubber surrounds instead, for longer life??) __________________ ‘today… there lives alongside the twentieth century the tenth or thirteenth. A hundred million people use electricity and still believe in the magic power of signs and exorcisms” Trotsky

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24th August 2011, 09:18 AM	#3
giralfino diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2009	In my limited experience, a drop-in replacement for a driver is quite impossible. First of all, you need to find a woofer with similar TS parameters to the existing one (FS, Vas, Qts, ...), so you can reuse the cab without mods. The you need to have the same SPL, and also to have a frequency response similar so you can keep the crossover. If you change something you need to change cab and/or crossover. If you like the sound simply re-foam the woofers. Ralf

24th August 2011, 11:46 AM	#4
canonnica diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Quebec	Allright thank you very much for your valuable comments. I'm giving a try at refoaming them. There's enough of infos in the matter on the Net (and this forum) so it shouldn't be that hard. Martin.

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